Sweet traditions

Fans of Huaiyang cuisine, one of China's fourmajor cuisines, can experience the delicacy at the newly opened Beijing branch of Yechun Teahouse. [Photo/China Daily]

At my lunch, I tried san'ding baozi (steamed buns stuffed with three delicacies), steamed meat dumplings, fried beef dumplings, jade-colored steamed meat dumplings, and steamed buns stuffed with sweet red-bean paste.

The bun skin was soft, and tasted of scented wheat. However, to appeal to Beijing diners who usually don't like their dumplings sweet, the stuffing was unsweetened and a little saltier, according to the chef.

I was also surprised to learn that all of the meatballs are freshly made to order.

Among the dozen dishes I tried, my second favorite was Sanguo Hui Tijin (Three Kingdoms Boiled with Pig-Feet Tendons, made of fish meatballs, crayfish meatballs, pigeon eggs and pig-feet tendons.

The meatballs were pre-boiled before they were cooked with the tendon strips in fresh fish soup. The timing is key, Chen says, to make the soup sticky but not ruin the freshness of the meatballs and eggs.

The meatballs were soft and exquisitely smooth. The eggs were slippery and tasty. But nothing could compare with the taste of the tendons, which were chewy and sticky, with a deliciously strong taste of fish that overrode the pork.

Other dishes I had that day made of fish, pork, vegetables, and mushrooms, for example, didn't seem that special－except for shizitou (pork meatballs) and two cold dishes of shrimp and dried fish, which were all very fresh and tasty.

IF YOU GO

Yechun Teahouse

7:30 am-10 pm, 22 Ping'anli Street, Xicheng district, Beijing.

010-5851-9968